It’s hard to believe that it has only been two weeks since hundreds of parents, grandparents and siblings poured onto campus for Elon University’s annual Family Weekend. As we return to the rigor of college life, it is appropriate to reflect on Family Weekend and what we can take from such an event.
To many students, especially first years, Family Weekend provides a crucial period of levity after weeks of relatively independent living.
To me, Family Weekend is about strengthening connections. For many students, the weekend is about reconnecting with loved ones, sharing stories, detailing progress in classes and more.
Although the university hosted many wonderful events to keep students and families occupied, I found the most rewarding moments to be the honest, face-to-face conversations with my family.
In short, the value of Family Weekend is derived from time spent together, no matter the circumstances.
I realize that the time is not just spent on re-establishing familial connections, but also on preserving them. I’m sure the majority of students have had their parents give them the standard assurance to “feel free to call if you ever have any problems.” Some have probably heard it a million times.
Family Weekend is a special time when these assurances are put in motion — when loved ones from all over the country come to Elon with the express purpose of seeing us.
We are children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters. These are the roles which we inherit and which we should accept. Family Weekend only reminds us of the strength of those bonds.
As such, even those who didn’t have family visiting should take from Family Weekend that college should not be seen as an opportunity to isolate yourself from your family. It’s no secret that college life is difficult.
In this transitional period from dependent to independent, we are so often faced with moments of stress and indecision.
We like to think that we can overcome all the challenges of college living by ourselves, but the simple reality is that everyone has a breaking point. It is when we reach this point that it becomes more important than ever that we have people to depend upon — our families.
Of course, there’s always the risk of becoming over-attached to one’s family, which is counterintuitive to the aim of independence.
But what makes Family Weekend so effective is that it allows us to regain the feel for living independently before having the family come back into the picture. It represents what I think is a necessity for our development — balance between dependent and independent living.
Whether we choose to include our loved ones in the experience of growing up as a college student, the point is that we’re given the choice.
As children, relatives were naturally a major aspect of our lives, but now we are given much more freedom to decide whether we still want that.
As we continue forward from Family Weekend to the stress of midterms, take the time to think about your relationship with your family.
The occasional call or text can be enough to strengthen that relationship.